By Ibironke Ariyo
The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC) Shehu Mohammed, has called on stakeholders, and the motoring public to join FRSC in cautioning their subjects against night travels.
Mohammed, who made the call in a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO) Corps Commander, Olusegun Ogungbemide on Monday in Abuja, also urged the public to stop using unsafe means of transportation.
The Corps Marshal was responding to reports of a fatal accident at Kilometer 02, Koriagi Village, Agaei, Lapai-Bida Road, Niger.
According to him, the accident was allegedly caused by overspeeding.
He said the accident which eventually led to loss of control and ended in hell happened exactly at 4:40am. On Sunday, 55 adult males were involved.
He said 37 passengers died and 18 were rescued with varying degrees of injuries.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accident involved four vehicles, a DAF tanker, two DAF trucks and a Toyota car.
The tanker carrying petrol was en route from Lagos to Kano and was travelling beyond the legal speed limit when the driver lost control of the wheels and fell on the road.
The collision caused a fire that burnt the vehicle.
While the trailer was burning, another DAF truck carrying cows and people also crashed into the burning tanker.
The other two vehicles, one a Toyota and the other a DAF truck, also fell into the inferno.
All the vehicles involved were completely burnt.
NAN reports that as early as August 30, the Corps Marshal had ordered an immediate crackdown on the transportation of flammable materials such as petroleum products across the country.
The directives prompted the massive deployment of patrollers on the country’s roads to conduct investigations and identify vehicles transporting the products.
However, the FRSC boss said the agency had risen to the challenge of combating bad road behaviour on all fronts since assuming office in May.
According to him, the move had resulted in a high level of cooperation between the FRSC, the leaderships of the various transport unions, security agencies and the state transport management authorities.
“Despite these efforts, most passengers continue to ignore the sensitization campaigns and travel to their destinations using the wrong mode of transport.
“What is more worrying is the fact that many of these tow drivers operate at night when the operational arm and task force of the force are not available.
“Based on the above, we appeal to the public to appreciate the efforts of the FRSC in putting an end to these deadly traffic violations,” he said.
